Locking mechanism for cake former end gates



"Mu 11, 1931. F. c. SIMON 1,817,946

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CAKE FORMER END GATES Filiiug. 25. 1929 2 Sheet-Sheet 1 Aug. 11, 1931. F. c. SIMON 1,817,946

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CAKE FORMER END GATES Filed Aug; 23, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4/ I j? 1/ II 37 5% i 30 X9 Z5 35 FOREST 0. SIMON, OF PIQUA,

Patented Aug. 11 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OHIO, iiSSIG-E GB TO THE FRENCH OIL MILL MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PIQUA, OHIO LOCKING MECHANISM CAKE FORMER END GATES Application filed August 23, 1929. Serial No. 387,926.

This invention relates to latch or locking mechanism for the end gates of cake forming machines.

A machine of this sort is disclosed in a pending application. for Letters Patent entitled Cake forming or molding machine filed December 15, 1928, by Forest C. Simon, Ser. These machines are used for forming oil bearing meal into cakes which are afterwards placed in presses for expressing the oil from the meal.

In machines such as disclosed in send pending application, the meal is compressed into a shallow cake in a cake mold to which the meal is delivered by a charge box which receives a charge of meal from a meal cooker and reciprocates over the mold for carrying the charge of meal thereto. An end gate slides horizontally and follows the charge box when the latter is advanced to deposit meal in the cake mold and comes to rest in a position to close one end of said mold. Another end gate at the opposite end of the cake mold swings vertically downwardly to operative position for closing that end of the mold. This end gate is lowered by hand, and in its movement acts as a controlling device for the mechanism which actuates and advances the charge box, being connected, for this purpose, by suitable means to a hydraulic valve which controls the flow of fluid to a cylinder in which a piston connected to the charge box operates. The aforementioned apparatus also includes hydraulic means for positively holding the vertically swinging end gate in closed position and maintaining it in such position until the meal has been deposited in the mold. Such end gate holding means, with the attendant hydraulic connections, while entirely satisfactory and practical is relatively expensive.

One object of the invention is to provide a machine of this kind with means for looking the end gate when moved to and while in operative position by use of which the design, construction and operation of the maautomatically acts to lock the end gate when the same is lowered to operative position; also to provide means for this purpose which can be automatically actuated to release the end gate by the charge box during some part of its movement and after the meal has been deposited; also to construct latch or locking mechanism for the swinging end gate of machines of this kind which, after being initially released by a movement of the charge box in one direction, is held in an intermediate inoperative position until the movement of the charge box in an opposite direction has been initiated so as to prevent the premature upward or return movement of said gate; also to provide latch or looking mechanism for this purpose which is relatively simple, compact, and of durable construction,

such as will not readily get out of order and by the use of which hydraulic end gate holding means and the attendant relatively expensive at achments therefor can be eliminated; and also to improve and simplify mechanism for this purpose in the other respects hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings Fig. l is a side elevation of a cake forming machine provided with end gate locking mechanism embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevation thereof showing the end gate in an upwardly extending, inoperative position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, transverse, vertical section of'the end gate locking mechanism, and adjacent portions of the cake mold and charge box taken approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end View, on an enlarged scale, of the end gate and the locking mechanism in looking position.

is a fragmentary, side elevation, partly in section showing the end gate in locked position, and the charge box about to actuate the locking mechanism to release the end gate.

Fig. 6 is a similar View with the charge box advanced to a position in which it has actuated the locking mechanism and unlocked the end gate and is eng 'lllg the latter to mainuntil the return movement of the charge box has been initiated.

F ig. 7 is an elevation of the rear side of the machine on a reduced scale.

In the machine shown in the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment of the invention, the cake mold comprises a cap A having opposite raised front and rear flanges or walls a. B is a sliding end gate which is movable to a position at the inner end of the cake mold and forms one end wall of the cake mold. C represents a charge box which normally rests upon the sliding end gate B below the discharge chute or opening of the cooker for the meal and is adapted to reciprocate from this position over the cake mold to deliver the charges of meal thereto. D is the swinging end gate or member which forms the other end wall of the cake mold, being mounted near its rear end on a pivot (Z on the rearflange a of the mold so as to swing downwardly crosswise of the mold. The front endof the end gate D is provided with a handle 10 adapted to be grasped by the op erator. The charge box G is actuated by hydraulic means including a cylinder 11 in which is arranged a piston 12 connected to the charge box and which is under the cout-rol of a hydraulic valve 13. This valve 13 is actuated by and synchronized with the movement of the end gate D to its closed position across the mold, so as to move the piston 12 in the cylinder 11 towards the right in Fig. 1 thus advancing the charge box and causing it to travel over the mold to deposit the meal therein. For this purpose the rear end of the and gate D is connected by suitable means such as a link 15, bell crank lever 16, and a second link 17 to a rock arm 18 secured to a rock shaft 19. A second arm 18a engaging said valve 13 is operatively connected to said shaft by a clutch device for actuating the valve 13 to advance the charge box when the end gate D is moved downwardly. The rey turn movement of the charge box is effected by a part (not shown) which moves there with and releases said clutch and permits the valve 13 to be reversed when the advance stroke of the charge box has been completed. The rear end of the end gate D is provided with a weight d which acts to elevate the gate when released.

The parts as thus far described are substantially similar to those disclosed in said 1 pending application Ser. No. 326,235, and

of themselves constitute no part of this invention.

As shown, the end gate D, which is of substantially angular cross section, having a vertical flange or portion 20 and a horizontal flange or plate portion 21, has formed in said flange 20 near its front end an aperture 22 into which a bolt or latch 23 of the latch or locking mechanism is projected when said end gate is swung about its pivot d to its lower operative position extending across and closing an end of the mold A, as described. Preferably said latch or bolt 23 is arranged in a horizontal recess 24 formed in the outer side or face of the front flan a of the mold, and which recess is closed by a cover plate 25 secured to said flange by bolts or fastenings 26. Arranged in the recess 24 in engagement with the bolt 23 is an expansion coil spring 27 which acts to move the bolt endwise to an outer position in which an end thereof projects beyond the upright end or edge 28 of the flan e a. In this position, its bevelled upper edge 29 is disposed alignment with or in the path of a correspondingly bevelled edge 30 at the bottom of the flange 20 of the end gate. As the and gate moves downwardly to operative posia tion, said edge 30 thereof engages the bevelled edge 29 of the bolt 23 and urges the bolt endwise into the recess 2-1 against the action of the spring 27 until the aperture 22 of said end gate comes into alignment with said latch, whereupon the latter will be projected by the spring 27 into said aperture thereby locking said gate and preventing its release or upward swinging movements thereof so long as the latch is in this position.

in this position of the parts, the top face of the flange 21 lies just below the plane of the bottom edge of the charge box, so that as the charge box is advanced over the cake mold A for filling the same, the extended front end of the charge box, which is in the form of a scraper 32, can pass over the end gate without striking the latter. The extreme advance position of the charge box thus described is shown approximately in Fig. 6. i

In accordance with the invention, the charge box, after it has filled the cake mold, and is about to reach the position just described, is caused to actuate a part interposed between the same and the spring pressed bolt 23 to retract said bolt and disengage it from the aperture 22 of the end gate to release the latter.

For this purpose, in the construction shown, the latch is provided with a laterally projecting stud or part which extends out through a slot 36 in the cover plate 25 so as to be engaged by the bifurcated downwardly extending lower end 37 of a lever 38, which is pivoted intermediate its ends at 39 on said plate or other part of the cake mold. The upwardly extending arm 40 of the lever 38 is provided with a roller or hardened stud 41 which is disposed in the path of an inclined cam carried by the charge box C, the lower end of which is continued as a horizontal, lever retaining part 13p The cam 42 and part 43 are preferably formed as a lateral extension of a casting or bracket 44 rigidly" secured to the front wall of the charge box C by rivets'or other securing devices 45. If

desired, the casting 44 may also have a second laterally extending, horizontal bottom flange 46 forming a runner or shoe which bears on the horizontal top edge 47 of the front flange a of thecake mold A, and acts to steady the charge box C in its movements over the cake mold.

Upon referring to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the cam 42 has just engaged the stud 41 of the latch releasing lever 38, and the continued advance movement of the charge box in the direction of the arrow will cause the lever 38 to move about its pivot to the position shown in Fig. 6, thus retracting the bolt or latch 23 from the aperture 22 in the end ate. The end gate D is thus released or unlOCk6Cl, and the continued travel of the charge box causes the part 43 to bear on and retain the lever 38 in its bolt releasing posit-ion. Due to the action of the weight cl at the rear end of the end gate 1), the tendency of said gate will now be to swing about its pivot (Z to its upright inoperative position, However, the advance travelof the charge box is not completed until its forward end or we l 48 passes over the inner edge of the end gate D'so as to insure an even deposit of meal within the mold. Thus the end gate, although released from its locl ed position, can only swing upwardly a slight distance when it will be intercepted by the bottom of the scraper 32 or other forward portion of the charge box, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, and will be so retained until the return travel of the charge box has been initiated and the scraper or forward part of the charge box has cleared the end gate D. The end gate is then free to assume its upright, inoperative position under the influence of the Weight (6, or any other means, and in this movement will return the connections between it and the rock shaft 19 to normal position, so that when the end gate is again lowered for the formation of another cake, the rock shaft 19, through said arm 18a will again actuate the valve 13 to cause the charge box to advance over the cake mold and deposit another charge of meal therein.

It should, of course, be understood that the machine is provided as usual, with a hydraulic ram, not shown and a head block E movable towards and from the mold. The ram is raised by actuation of a hand controlled valve 50, and the head block E lowered after each charge of meal is deposited in the cake mold to compress the meal into a cake. Each charge of meal preferably is enclosed in a press cloth, as well known in the art.

The latch mechanism is simple and durable, and consists of relatively few parts not liable to easily get out of order. The mecha nism, formed partly on the charge box and partly on the cake mold, as described, is positive in action both for locking the end gate as it is lowered, and for releasing the end gate by the movement of the charge box. The latch mechanism is inexpensive and its use enables the more expensive and complicated hydraulic mechanism used for the same purpose to be eliminated.

Claims 1. In a cake molding machine, the combination with a cake mold, an end gate movable to an operative position for closing an end of said mold, and a reciprocating charge box which moves over said cake mold to de posit therein a charge to be formed into a cake, of locking means With which said end gate directly engages and by which it is automatically locked when said end gate is moved to said mold closing position, and said locking means being actuated directly by said charge box to unlock said end gate.

2. In a cake molding machine, the combi nation with a cake mold, an end gate movable to an operative position for closing an end of said mold, and a reciprocating charge box which moves over said cake mold to deposit therein a charge to be formed into a cake, locking means mounted on said mold in a position to be directly engaged by said end gate to automatically lock said gate when the latter is moved to said mold closing position, and means for actuating said locking means to unlock said end gate after a charge has been deposited and a cake formed in said cake mold. I

3. In a. cake molding machine, the comination with a cake mold, an end gate movable to an operative position for closing an end of said mold and having an aperture therein, and a movable charge box, and means for advancing said charge box over said mold to deposit material therein and for retracting the same, of means automatically entering said aperture in said end gate for locking said end gate when the latter is moved to operative position, and said means being actuated and withdrawn from said aperture by said charge box during a portion of its advance stroke to unlock said end gate, and a part on said charge box which engages and prevents said released end gate from moving to an inoperative position until the return stroke of said charge box has been initiated.

4. In a cake molding machine, the combination with a cake mold, an end gate movable to an operative position for closing an end of said mold, and a reciprocating charge box which moves over said cake mold to deposit therein a charge to be formed into a cake, a spring pressed bolt on said mold which is engaged by and automatically locks said end gate when the latter is moved to operative position, a. member pivoted on said mold and operatively engaging said bolt, and a part on said charge box which engages and moves said pivoted member to disengage Y loo said bolt from said end gate in the movement of said charge box over said mold.

5. In a cake molding machine, the combination with a cake mold, an end gate movable to an operative position for closing an end of said mold, and a reciprocating charge box Which moves over said cake mold to deposit therein a charge to be formed into a cake, of a spring pressed bolt on said mold which is engaged by and automatically locks said end gate when the latter is moved to operative position, a projection on said charge box, and apivot-ed member operatively connected to said bolt and disposed in the path of said projection so as to be moved thereby to retract said bolt and unlock said end gate in the movement of said charge box over said mold.

6. In a cake molding machine, the combination with a cake mold, an end gate movable to an operative position for closing an end of said mold, and a reciprocating charge box which moves over said cake mold to deposit therein a charge to be formed into a cake, of a cam on said charge box, a spring pressed bolt disposed in the path of said end gate for engagement thereby as the latter is moved to operative position for locking said end gate, a pivoted lever operatively "onnected to said bolt and disposed in the path of said cam on said charge box, whereby said lever is actuated to retract said bolt and unlock said end gate by a movement of said charge box in a direction which causes said cam to strike and move said lever,

FOREST C. SIMON. 

